Lethal Obsessions
by zoidschick
Summary: Mary Smith, a wandering soul who’s past is driving her insane, now she is determined to destroy every last aspect of her past and she is near success, only one aspect remains, but for how long? (KarlxOC) Written for Element Guardian and other Karl Schubal
1. Destroying the past

"Once you leave a way of life, it is often hard to get used to your new way of life." Anon

"Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and death is too." Mary Smith, a wandering soul who's past is driving her insane, now she is determined to destroy every last aspect of her past and she is near success, only one aspect remains, but for how long? (KarlxOC) Written for Element Guardian and other Karl Schubaltz fans.

As the smoke drifted up into the air behind her, Mary Smith sighed and continued walking, the penultimate part of her past was going up in smoke and flames, but it was working, she could feel her sanity regaining control. There was only one more thing to do now, kill _him._ The base exploded in a ball of fire and she turned round, "Sorry Phoebe, sorry Darren, even you Brad, after what you did to me, I'm sorry, but you were holding me down, letting my insanity take over, now I can take my mind back." she walked away from the base and her past, and not a single tear was shed, or a single sob uttered, for Mary Smith had no emotions except anger and hate, and it was all being directed at one man from now on, until he died at her hands.

She pulled a small book out of her bag and opened it to a random page: ""Once you leave a way of life it is often hard to get used to your new way of life." Anon" "Too true," she said, "but I can use that to my advantage, it'll take you time to get used to not being in the army, and now you've gone travelling, I know where you'll be, and when you'll be there, the past is coming to get you Karl, nothing you can do about it."


	2. Dangerous Memories

Authors note: I'm back, hopefully this should keep you occupied, until I get the next chapter up at least. R&R please.

As the sun was setting over the mountains, in a small hanging valley, a campfire was burning, a tent had been set up a meter away, and someone was lying by the fire, watching the stars appear. It had been a month since he had retired from military service, and Karl Schubaltz was still adjusting to his new life, the lack of wind caused to smoke from the fire to go straight up into the heavens and out of sight. He sat up and looked out over the edge of the hanging valley, the moon had just started to rise, and the scene was changing, becoming bathed in the moons ethereal glow, the valley looked like a warped dreamscape now, but it was quiet, after everything that had happened two months ago, he was enjoying the quiet, but he knew it would not last long, it never did. As he watched the moon rise a distant memory came back to haunt him, Marishka, she had died 6 years ago to the day, and it was making him hurt more than ever inside, he wished he could have told her how he felt, he guessed she'd figured it out, but he couldn't be too sure, "I love you Marishka." he whispered to the night, he wondered what she would have looked like now, she'd have been 25 at some point over the last year, he shook his head sadly, and went to the tent, but an arrow thudding into the ground by his foot stopped him, there was a note attached, he opened it a read it: "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Sugar is Sweet, and Death is too."


	3. Hidden Killer

Authors note: So people like, and it is set a couple of months after GF. So keep on reviewing please, also if you want to know more about Marishka Silvias, read my other Karl based fic: Dangerous Obsessions, if you haven't already

Mary finished writing the note and attached it to the arrow, then she fired it towards the camp, it landed right by his feet, "Good, now he'd better watch his back, cause it won't be long now, I'll get you, and I'll get you good." She whispered, before she walked away to the camp she had set up a mile away.

Karl stared at the note in disbelief, so someone wanted him dead, but who, why? It just didn't make sense, he was not sure what to do about it, he could handle a single person, he'd handled a lot more in the past, he decided not to let it go, but he didn't want to get people worked up over a small thing. He'd heard about a series of bombings on old terrorist bases, but the targets had all been deserted for years, one of the targets was a base Marishka had been at for a bit, he sighed, it all seemed to bring him to the same pattern of thought, Marishka Silvias, she was haunting him more and more often now, that was twice in 10 minutes. A cold wind blew up from the valley, bring him back to reality, he pulled out a portable electro fence and set it up around the camp, any animals would just get a shock, and he would be protected while he slept, but he knew it would be a rough night.


	4. The Festival pt1

Dawn broke over the mountains illuminating them in a cold light. Mist hung in the bottoms of the valleys and crevices, almost like a sea surrounding islands. Karl had not been able to sleep for most of the night, the note was troubling him more than he would admit to himself, there was a small mountain town a couple of miles east, the road would be dangerous at the moment, but once the sun had burned through the mist it should be safe to travel on. He relight the fire to warm himself up, she mist in the valley below him was already vanishing and he could see two people by the river, but the distance made it impossible to see them in any detail.

Once all the mist had cleared he set off towards the town, when he could see it in the distance, he realised it was a festival, no shops would be open, but he could relax and enjoy himself for a bit. As he approached the town gates, two guards nodded to let him pass. The stone houses were decorated with flags and coloured cloth. Everywhere was clean and there was music playing everywhere, as he neared the centre of the town he noticed a crowd had gathered round a stage and was waiting for something. A girl ran in front of him and between the legs of the bystanders. And old woman noticed him and said: "You're not from around here are you?"

"No, I'm just travelling, what is this?" he replied

"Every year there is a competition between the four largest towns in the area, races, martial arts and dancing, and this year we're hosting it. You should stay and watch, it's the first round of the fights, first event, it should be worth your while." he nodded in response, and began to watch the stage. A man walked to the centre of the stage and began to speak "Friends, travellers from distant lands, we welcome you to the 100th Contest, as always the first event is the battles between the best fighters from: Gransville, Smithtown, Armend, and Talinsis. The first fight will be between the chosen of the host, Talinsis and the chosen of Gransville. The chosen weapon is the rod, and now I give you, travelling from Gransville to defend his title: Derek Jones, and the local girl: Tanya Adams. The two fighters walked from opposite sides of the stage and walked to the centre, Tanya was a good head shorter than Derek, but she had the look of a fighter determined to win. "Fighters take your positions, ready, fight" the crowd were in for a short fight however, as Derek ran at Tanya, who did not appear to move, but Karl could tell, she was in the perfect position for a jump, and sure enough, she jumped right over him, from the edge of the stage to the centre, Derek just fell off the stage, losing. "Right, that was quick." said the commentator, "On to the next fight: Bill Sommerton from Smithtown and Zack Zinas from Armend.

This fight was more interesting than the last, and ended in a win for Zack when he floored Bill and pinned him for 10 seconds.

While the commentator announced when the next round would be Karl scanned the crowd and felt his heart go cold, he'd seen her, wait, it couldn't be, Marishka Silvias had died six years ago, yet she was here, but when he looked again, she was gone. "Just my imagination." he thought to himself


	5. The Festival pt2

Authors note: I'm back, nice to know people are enjoying this one. And anyone figured out why Mary is doing what she is doing?

Mary was in Talinas watching the annual contest, the dancers were now on and they were good, the first act were two girls from Gransville performing a gypsy dance. Their elaborate costumes enhanced the display perfectly. As she watched the dancers she let her guard drop a little, then she saw him, standing on the other side of the stage to her, even though he was now retired from the military, it was unmistakably him, he seemed to be enjoying himself and Mary could feel the rage build up inside her, but she managed to keep calm, "All in good time" she thought, "Enjoy yourself while you can Karl, cause you're closer to death more than ever."

She instinctively went to cover her right shoulder to conceal the tattoo she had there, once she realised it was still covered she relaxed, she remembered getting it when she was 18, she'd wanted one for ages, but didn't know what to get, then she'd been in a small village and a woman had been growing black lilies, she'd said her son was a major in the Imperial Army, and she'd given him one for good luck. That was how she'd decided to have a black lily, now she remembered the woman, she realised that she looked a lot like Karl, could she have been his mother, oh well, everyone died someday, and that someday would be very soon for Karl Schubaltz.

Once the festival was over Mary followed Karl to a hotel where he somehow managed to get a room, though she suspected he'd paid more than it was worth. As the streets emptied she made her way back to the stage and collected her thoughts, now she knew where he was she could follow him until he was sufficiently isolated then do what she had set out to do a month ago, now her task was so close to completion, she could taste it.


	6. Poems and Rhymes

Authors note: I'm back again, and I know I've already published the poem, but it was too good an opportunity to waste, R&R please. and I should get chapter 7 up pretty quick too, hope you enjoy them both.

As Karl left the town, not for the first time, he began to wonder what life would be like for Marishka if she had survived, but her had no idea, he'd only been with her for such a short time, but he felt as if he'd known everything there was to know about her, and he was missing her more and more each day. Later on in the day he came across a strange stone circle. The trees surrounding it were impenetrable, no one could have pulled them through except on the tiny path that ran in and out of it, the stones were old, but on each one some was written, poetry, recent poetry and old poetry. As he read them one stood out more than the others to him. It read:

I'm slipping away into the darkness,

I'm thinking of you as I go into the darkness

I fell from grace

I fell away from you

Now I will always be alone.

What little time we had

I'm glad we had it

Though I wish it cold have been more

Maybe things would have worked out

But now I guess we'll never know

MS

Something about it disturbed him, he felt as if he'd seen someone in exactly the same situation before, "M S," he whispered, "Same initials as you Marishka, but you died, didn't you?" he remembered the note from the camp before the town: "Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet and death is too." he repeated under his breath, someone had it in for him, and he had a horrible feeling he knew who, but he could not bring himself to admit it.


	7. Ghosts of the past pt1

Authors Note: Hi, hope you enjoyed the last chapter. Now I wonder would any of you have seen this coming, I suspect you will have, but we'll just have see. Please review, I'd really like to know what people think a bit more than usual for this chapter, since it's quite a bit longer than the others (I think)

The sun was setting, turning the sky into an artists dream, reds, oranges and purples, mixed with the pinks of the clouds and towards the east, the deep blue of night was starting to take hold, and a few glimmers of starlight were just starting shine through the increasing darkness. The mountains cast long shadows over the valleys, and on the westerly slopes, the rocks were coloured by the sky and fading light. The trees threw dark shadows all around, making the paths seem more treacherous than they were in reality. There was no wind, and the silence cloaked everything, like the impending darkness of the night.

Karl had set up camp at the top of a hollow, though he was surrounded by trees, he could see the sun set from where he was, growing up on of the trees was a strange plant, he'd not had time to investigate it closely, but it looked like something his mother grew, gardening was the only thing she could do now, Lucie now had the burden of looking after her, but he knew it would be unlikely his mother lasted the year, since the death of his father, she'd gotten slowly and steadily worse, taking comfort in her garden, and the exotic plants she grew, none more exotic than the black lilies, she'd given him one before he'd gone to Red River. He'd gotten a letter from her later on during the war, telling him about a girl, she'd talked to while tending the lilies. He sighed and watched the sun sink behind the mountains, and waited for the darkness to truly set in.

Mary sat though the dark night, cold and alone. As the moon rose, the trees became silvery, and their shadows became blurred, she could see his camp quite well now, not too exposed, but exposed enough for her to tell he was asleep. She walked round the edge of the hollow, and stopped at the tree with the plant growing up it, the picked on of the flowers and stared at it, the black lily, a dark beauty, she took the flower with her back to her own camp, and ended up putting it in water. She would have to sit up all night, to make sure she could get to him before he left. By the time dawn came, the flower was fully open, she took it and tucked the stem behind her right ear, she did not know why, but doing so made her feel safer. She could see he was just up now, picking up her gun, she walked over to the hollow.

Karl was just about to get the fire going again after the night, but a twig snapping made him stop. He spun round to see someone standing a couple of metres away, and pointing a gun at him, he recognised her at once. He looked into her eyes but saw no emotion at all, just nothingness.

"Why Marishka, what would it gain?" he said quietly, keeping as calm as he could.


	8. Ghosts of the past pt2

Authors Note: Could I have some more reviews please, I liked the most recent one I got. And I hope you enjoy this one, it's a bit short, but I want to keep you hanging for a bit more. (and thanks chcraven for your most recent review, I could not resist using it)

"I wondered if you would remember me or not, I guess I'm not as hard to forget as I thought I was, may need to sort that out, but given I'm not called Marishka anymore, it probably won't matter." she replied, "I changed my name to Mary Smith, so if something had gone wrong, I could have been any girl, not just a dead girl."

The wind had picked up, blowing pine needles into the hollow, Marishka's hair blew into her face, but she just brushed it aside. The sun was now fully risen, but the mountain meant the hollow was still in shadow.

Karl looked into her eyes trying to find a trace of the 19 year old he had met, but he found nothing and emotionless void.

"Like the note I sent you?" she asked

"Well, it was a cute little version of the nursery rhyme." He replied, "But you've not answered my question, what would you hope to achieve?"

"Does it matter?" she answered, she tightened her grip on the gun and took aim.

"So I guess this is it." She added

Karl heard the gun go off with a bang as Marishka pulled the trigger sending a bullet in his direction. He thought back to how he had met her, when she'd blown up the bridge, she'd had quite an attitude and ended up driving Marcus up the wall, then she'd saved his life, but he'd been unable to return the favour.


	9. Ghosts of the past pt3

Authors note: to kill him or not to kill him, that is the question, at least the answer is an easy one. I hope you enjoy what I put next. And if you haven't done so already: read Dangerous Obsessions (by me) it's the prequel.

The bullet embedded itself in a tree, it's path had taken it within an inch of Karl's right ear, Marishka, or Mary as she was called now stared in shock, "It's not fair, I tried, I came so close, but I . . . just . . . can't, why . . . I don't get it." her mind was whirling as she tried to comprehend what had just happened, she'd changed her aim at the last second, but why, was it her, or him, she dropped the gun in her confusion and stared at it blankly, "Do you know what it's like to die?" she asked quietly, still avoiding his eye.

Karl was as shocked as her, he'd really thought it was the end for him, but he guessed not. "No, I'm guessing you do, what happened to you?"

"When we separated, I went to get out of the caves in Republican territory, but I fell down a ravine, I thought I was going to die for sure, but I landed in the river, not on the ground. I drifted downstream for a few days, and washed up near the coast, ever since then I've been wandering around." she said "About a year ago I got really bad and then it hit me, my past was holding me back, I thought if I destroyed my past I could move on, but it didn't work." she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, she tried to hold them back but a couple escaped and splashed on the ground by the gun.

Karl felt very sorry for her, she'd had a rough life, rougher than most people would have, and it had gotten to her, he walked over to her and pulled her against him, she was crying properly now, but he didn't know what to say, so he just held her.

Marishka could feel him holding her and it felt nice and comforting, "I'm sorry." she sobbed. Karl ran his fingers over her head, feeling her pull closer to him, he knew what he wanted, but would it make things better or worse? He made up his mind, and waited for the right time.

After a few more minutes Marishka stopped crying, but didn't move away from him, she'd liked being with him, and that had not changed.

Karl knew it was now or never, he tilted her head back a little and kissed her hard on the lips, his hands pressed her body against his even harder as he deepened the kiss.

Marishka was taken completely by surprise when he kissed her, but after a while she was enjoying it, and she did the only thing she could think to do


	10. Begining Regeneration

Marishka felt herself being swept up in a daze, the kiss was something she had not seen coming, but nor had her changing her mind. She managed to get her mind back on track and knew she could only do one thing; she gently pulled away from the kiss and said, "I'm not sure I can do this, I'm not sure about anything anymore, my life doesn't seem to have any meaning, maybe it would have been better if I'd died in those caves." it was confusing, she'd enjoyed the kiss, but the hurt was too much, she needed time to think about everything, and she was very tired, her legs buckled but she could feel his arms round her shoulders, holding her up.

"You should sleep." Karl said, he was a bit hurt when she'd pushed away from the kiss, but looking at her now, it wouldn't have been fair on her to continue for much longer. Her mind and heart had been overtaxed; he hoped a good rest would help. He picked her up with both arms and carried her to the tent. She made a couple of disorientated protests, but still clung to him as if her life depended on it. He laid her on the camp bed and watched her fall into a deep sleep within a few minutes.

Marishka woke up the next morning feeling a bit better, her mind seemed more at ease, and the shock of the previous morning was no longer influencing her actions. Instead she was very hungry and thirsty; this in turn made her very weak. She tried to sit up but her arms would not support her weight.

Karl came in and saw she was awake, 2I'm guessing you're hungry, here, eat this, it's not much, but it's something." he placed a tray with some pasta and a drink on the small table next to the bed before helping her sit up.

Marishka turned her head slightly and brushed her lips against his, "Thank you." she whispered.

Authors note: I hope people are enjoying, and I would like some more reviews please, thanks, I will update asap, I've just got back from holiday.


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